10 family holiday health tips

By Kathy
12th Aug 2014

With school holidays now upon us, everyone’s attentions are turning to thoughts of sunnier climes, and their hard-earned annual holidays. I know that every moment of your few weeks in the sun is precious, so with that in mind, I thought I would offer some simple, practical tips to ensure you stay healthy whilst on your travels. Enabling you to relax and enjoy your holidays to the maximum! After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than losing out on potential ‘beach-time’, lying in a darkened room, so here are some handy tips on how to avoid ‘traveller’s diarrhoea’ (TD) whilst on your foreign holidays.

Always drink bottled water when travelling abroad, and avoid tap water

Wash hands frequently, especially before and after eating

Don’t have ice cubes in your drinks

Clean your teeth using bottled water

Avoid salad that may have been washed in unsanitary tap water

Take care with local cheeses and ice-cream that may be unpasteurised in some destinations

Peel all fruit, including tomatoes

Avoid food that has been left in the open for a long-time, or exposed to flies

Ensure all meat consumed is thoroughly cooked

Avoid seafood if in any doubt of its freshness

Obviously, some countries carry a higher risk when it comes to the likelihood of falling victim to traveller’s diarrhoea, than others. Developing countries such as those in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America are generally recognised as carrying the greatest risk, but incidents can occur in any foreign location.

The cause of uncomfortable digestive symptoms need not necessarily be exposure to pathogenic bacteria (although many cases do involve pathogens), in some incidences symptoms can simply be the result of a dramatic change in diet and exposure to different types of bacteria than we are used to. If pathogenic bacteria are involved, the most common infective bacteria species are: E.coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Giardia and Shigella.

Maintaining a good balance of beneficial bacteria in the gut, is one way to safeguard yourself from digestive upset when travelling. ‘Friendly’ bacteria produce a number of different enzymes which help us to break down our food, so our digestive system copes better with the sudden dietary changes that often accompany a foreign holiday. Additionally, by ensuring adequate colonies of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract, any pathogens ingested are less likely to find space to adhere to the lining of the digestive tract.

The 'friendly' yeast Saccharomyces boulardii has been clinically trialled to be effective against traveller's diarrhoea. A study [1] based on Austrian tourists visiting various countries with a warm climate, proved Saccharomyces boulardii to reduce the likelihood of contracting traveller's diarrhoea. Significantly fewer participants in the Saccharomyces boulardiigroup contracted TD, in comparison with those in the placebo group.

‘For travelling abroad’ – new 60 capsule pack size

The live cultures in our ‘For travelling abroad’ product have been trialled to survive even at higher temperatures, so you can confidently take the product with you to even the sunniest of destinations! This high-quality travel product comes in two different pack sizes, the original 20 capsule pack, and our new ‘jumbo’ pack comprising of 60 capsules. The larger pack size has been introduced to the range, for those of you lucky enough to be heading off on longer travels, or for those travelling as a family group, or group of friends. It offers a significant cost-saving over purchasing three of the smaller packs, and is a must-have product in any backpack or suitcase.

We recommend that the product should be started 3-5 days before leaving the country, and taken throughout the holiday and for a few days following return.